Skate Park Plans Rolling Along

City commissioners will vote at 9 a.m. Monday at City Hall on whether to spend $1.3 million on the construction of a new 22,000 square-foot skate park.

LAKELAND | Skateboarding in Lakeland is about to hit the big time.City commissioners will vote at 9 a.m. Monday at City Hall on whether to spend $1.3 million on the construction of a new 22,000 square-foot skate park that includes small obstacles for younger skateboarders, a street course, a snake run that stretches around the park and an 8-foot recreational bowl.Lakeland skateboarders lost their public facility with the closing of Adair Park, which was built in 1998. The park closed after the city sold the land it occupied to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for $2.65 million. The new park will be paid for through funds the city received in the deal."Usually I skate at Tampa," said Patrick Stiener, a local skateboarder who helped design a portion of the street area with Team Pain. "This will be better than Tampa.""It offers everything you'd want in a good skate park," Stiener said.Team Pain specializes in custom concrete skate park facilities. The company has been providing design and construction of skate parks to cities since 1997.The skate park will be located at Lake Bonny Park, on Bartow Road across from Lakeland High School.City officials are recommending that commissioners hire Rodda Construction for the project. The Lakeland-based firm was chosen over Flores & Harper Construction Co., of Tampa.If approved Monday, construction will begin on Dec. 15, said Pam Page, assistant director of parks and recreation.The park should be open by May, she said.The park is expected to be free of charge. It's unclear whether skate boarders will be required to wear helmets and gear to skate, Page said.The skate park will include colored concrete, landscaping, shade pavillons with fans and an area for spectators.A breakdown of costs was provided in a packet of information for the park. Costs include:$631,894 — skate surface$400,158 — site work$154,451 — shade pavilions/entry feature/fencing$102,830 — plumbing and electrical$63,924 — site furniture, landscaping and irrigationBruce Phillips, 45, who has skated for 30 years, says the city has worked well with the Lakeland Skaters Alliance."This is a progressive parks department that keeps up with modern times," Phillips said. "I'm glad we won't have to travel 45 minutes to skate at a nice park."Phillips said he plans to use the park three times a week."It will suit any kind of skater," Phillips said. "From a street skater, to a long boarder riding down sidewalks to guys who like to ride bowls."Commissioner Justin Troller traveled through Central Florida with skateboarders and city officials to look at other parks."I'm excited about it opening," Troller said. "They will feel ownership with the park because they had a big part in what it looked like."

[ John Chambliss can be reached at john.chambliss@theledger.com or 863-802-7588. ]